Owen Coyle 'disappointed' with mistakes made against SC East Bengal

The Jamshedpur tactician felt that they had ample time to force a draw.

Jamshedpur FC ended up being second-best against SC East Bengal, as they narrowly lost the match 1-2 in the Indian Super League. The Men of Steel were pegged back with goals in each half from the Red and Gold and though they had a late surge and pulled one back, it was a little too late for Owen Coyle and his men.

Reflections on game

Coyle felt that his men started the game well and conceded because of some cheap giveaways. He added how his team was comfortable in the second half and had the better chances. He also felt that Jamshedpur deserved something out of the game.

"I think we started the game very well. Then we conceded a soft corner and we gave the ball away cheaply. Then from the resultant corner, the boy (Matti Steinmann) scored a great header and gave them the lead. In the second half, we pushed forward in search of the equalizer. We looked comfortable, despite East Bengal looking to hit on the counter-attack. Then we gave a bad pass away to gift the second goal. we have done that a few times now and it is difficult to cover up.

"We also had a stonewall penalty. If that was given, at 2-2 things could have been different with a couple of minutes to go. We probably would have won the game as we were in the ascendancy. It is disappointing to take the result, considering the way we have played, I think we deserved something from the game," Coyle said at the post-match press conference.

A little too late for Men of Steel?

https://youtu.be/LG26eYJ8tpU

When questioned whether the Men of Steel were too late to come up with the equalizer, the Scotsman added how he felt that there was enough time to churn out at least a draw. He said,"I think there was plenty of time with five minutes of normal time to go and also five more in injury-time. We should have had that because we had 2-3 balls across the goal and we also should have had that penalty.

"It is obviously good to score earlier and be in control of the game. But, you still need to keep showing that spirit which we have shown in every game. There has been a vast improvement from last year and we are never out of games, as we always compete and will get better with time."

Thoughts on SC East Bengal

Speaking about the opponents, Coyle was impressed with the foreigners of SC East Bengal, but he was not satisfied with the defeat. "I think East Bengal have some wonderful players. Some of those boys have played at the very highest level. So, when they were one goal up they tried to hit us on the counter-attack and have got great players. Also, some of the young Indian players have also done very well for them.

"So, we have to be respectful for that. But, from our point of view, we know we can play better than that. We certainly should not have lost the game, as we played good enough to take something from the game," the Scotsman opined.

Issues at the back

Lastly, considering the open spaces in defence for Jamshedpur FC, there were questions on the form of foreign centre backs Stephen Eze and Hartley. However, the former Wigan manager believes that it a baseless question, as the duo have recently come up with three clean-sheets.

"The first goal was from a corner which had nothing to do with both of them. We were beaten at the near post, which should have been dealt with. The second goal was because of a cheap giveaway and (Anthony) Pilkington got the shot away. Those two lads have just come off three clean-sheets. I don't know who has asked the question, but they have not given much thought on it."

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